


Walking Down the Line

by mmmdraco



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-17
Updated: 2012-07-17
Packaged: 2017-11-10 03:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/461831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmmdraco/pseuds/mmmdraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryoma can't help but find it strange to hear Tezuka call someone else Buchou.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Walking Down the Line

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I mean no harm, I have no money... Stuff like that. Yeah.

Ryoma took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the locker room beyond. "Buchou?"

A man whom Ryoma had never met before looked up at him in confusion. "Kid, do you go here?"

Shaking his head briefly, Ryoma tried again. "I'm looking for Tezuka... Kunimitsu." Ryoma wasn't sure why he'd come here. He could just have easily met Tezuka at the train station... but he was perhaps curious about the school the other boy attended.

Tezuka emerged from behind a set of lockers, dressed, but with his hair still wet from the showers. "Echizen -- give me a moment to get my things together. I'll be right out."

Ryoma nodded and stood back. A moment later, the man who was obviously the buchou here was shaking his hand. "Echizen Ryoma? We've heard so much about you. You did a great job representing Japan last year!" Ryoma was nonplussed.

When Tezuka emerged again, he had his bag slung over his shoulder. "I'm ready." He observed the situation at hand and cleared his throat. "Ah -- buchou -- if you'll excuse us... Echizen and I have an important matter to discuss."

Ryoma led the way out the door, thinking to himself that the word 'buchou' just didn't fit Tezuka's tongue.

\-----

"Why did you show up at my school?" Tezuka held tight to his bag and glanced at Ryoma for only a moment as he spoke.

Ryoma shrugged and adjusted his own bag on his shoulder. "Practice ended early, and we had talked about meeting anyway. And you told me I could come by anytime I needed you."

Tezuka did not react to the words that Ryoma thought mattered. "Ah, so Inui came by to help out with practice today."

"Che'." Ryoma gripped his bag a bit tighter. "I only managed to get out of having his juice because I was playing Horio."

They walked along toward the station, opposite visions of stone faces. Tezuka was the cool calm of a lake stone. Ryoma burned fierce like a lava rock. But conversation didn't spring well from either.

\-----

They got off at the right station and made their way down the street toward the same tennis shop that they had shopped at in Tezuka's Seigaku days. "It's strange to hear you calling someone else 'buchou'," Ryoma said quietly as they passed a ramen shop.

Tezuka took a long step and opened the door to the shop, continuing to hold it open for Ryoma. "It was strange to hear you call me that today, but it was nice at the same time."

"Nice?" Ryoma looked at him carefully.

Tezuka pushed his glasses up his nose a bit. "Yes. It was a reminder of a lot of things."

Ryoma wandered over to look at the grip tape and Tezuka was right behind. "Ne, buchou, what do you think of this kind?" He held it up for inspection and paused when he saw the look in Tezuka's eyes. "Sorry. Tezuka."

They discussed the different new items and whether certain items were worth buying then or if they could wait until a sale was going on. Ryoma ended up buying a new wristband and Tezuka bought the roll of grip tape that Ryoma had held up.

\-----

They ate yakisoba for dinner. Ryoma ordered his without onions. He was surprised with Tezuka did the same. When Tezuka noticed the look that Ryoma gave him, he looked away. "One only does when the other does. Otherwise, one doesn't."

Ryoma quirked an eyebrow. "That's right. I forgot you had classes with Atobe now. How is he?"

The discussion quickly turned away from etiquette rules that really only mattered for couples.

\-----

They were heading back to the train station when Ryoma held back a step just on the edge of the glow from the next streetlight. "Buchou..."

Tezuka turned around and looked at his former teammate. "Echizen."

"I... there was a reason I asked you out today."

Tezuka waited for something further, but received no response. "What was it?"

"I have to tell you something."

Those were words that made Tezuka remember likewise situations... none of them very good. "Is there something I've done?"

Ryoma shook his head and smiled sadly. "More like something I haven't. But, I figured... I wanted to get it off my mind before the tournament."

Tezuka gripped his bag tighter as he watched Ryoma let his fall off his shoulder. Ryoma took a step forward into the light and Tezuka watched the fine strands of his hair glint before Ryoma's arms were around his neck and he was breathing out "buchou" and kissing Tezuka sweetly.

A moment later, Tezuka's own bag hit the ground and he wrapped his arms around Ryoma, pulling the boy against his chest. "When you say that word, I can't remember myself."

Ryoma pressed his face against Tezuka's shirt. "I don't know how this happened."

Tezuka fingered Ryoma's hair and noted that Ryoma had grown several centimeters since the last time they'd seen each other. "Does it matter?"

Looking up at Tezuka with innocent eyes, Ryoma shook his head. "Not in the slightest. Not so long as we agree."

The light above them flickered slightly and Ryoma laughed nervously about it. "Buchou... the trains are going to stop if we're not careful."

Tezuka ran his thumb gently along Ryoma's bottom lip. "Let them." He leaned down slightly and placed his lips against Ryoma's own.

Sometimes, conversation just wasn't needed.


End file.
